


Arms

by flippantninny



Category: Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-19
Updated: 2014-08-19
Packaged: 2018-02-13 21:39:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2166108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flippantninny/pseuds/flippantninny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on the one word prompt 'Arms'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Arms

**Author's Note:**

> Or the one where Beth says what we've all been thinking.

"We’re gonna have some company tomorrow," Daryl said, "Carl wants to learn more hand to hand combat skills."

"Oh," Beth said. She knew it was selfish, Carl should be taught to fight, but she loved the alone time with Daryl. Alone time wasn’t a thing they got too often, so their weekly combat lessons / make out sessions were a thing she spent the entire week looking forward to.

"I tried to get out of it, but it makes sense, kid needs to learn how to fight," Daryl said. His voice was soft, the sort of soft he used when he was talking to Beth and only Beth. The tone of voice that reminded her that she was special, if only to him.

"I know, it’s good, Carl needs to be capable or protecting himelf," she said, before a smirk appeared on her lips, "he’s a great shot but no good at combat, besides, if his first lesson is anything like mine was he won’t want a second."

"What’s that supposed to mean," Daryl asked, his face falling a little.

"Oh no don’t be sad," Beth said, her voice mockingly comforting, cupping his face in her hands and meeting his eyes, "I just mean you just weren’t exactly the best teacher, you could be a little unforgiving."

He smiled slightly, “well you kept closin’ one eye to shoot the bow, can’t expect me to not lose my temper when you do that.”

She shrugged, letting her hands drop but maintaining their eye contact, “it just felt right to close one eye, I didn’t realise it was such a big deal.”

Daryl smirked and shook his head, still amazed there was ever a time he managed to be mad at her. “If you hated the lessons so much what made you stick around and ask for more?” he asked.

She smiled at him, “you know, didn’t have anything better to do, didn’t fancy being useless.”

"Fair enough," he replied. Back when it was just the two of them there wasn’t much else to do except training and hunting and trying to find their family’s trail. These days he wished he had the spare time to just talk and relax and lay in the grass and stare at the sun.

"Well, that and the arms," she said, laughing quietly as his face pulled into a puzzled expression.

"What arms?"

"These arms," she said, poking his bicep then laughing again when his face managed to look more puzzled yet.

"What about my arms?" he said, self consciously covering the point where she poked it with his other hand.

”Are you kidding? They’re like, the perfect arms. Not gonna lie, there were a few times I rushed a shot just so I could watch you reload the bow again.”

Her smile brightened as red painted Daryl’s face. For a guy who acted like he didn’t give a shit most of the time, it was amazing how easily he could be embarrassed by a simple compliment.

"You wasted time and shots to watch me reload?" he asked, a mixture of amusement and annoyance in his tone, thinking back to Beth’s initial lessons when she wouldn’t line up the shot or correct her stance before shooting, like she was trying to fit as many tried into as little time as possible.

"Oh, trust me, it was not a waste," she replied, her eyes dropping back down to his arms. She could spend an entire afternoon in the middle of the apocalypse watching him reload that bow, and it would not be a waste.

"Wait, we weren’t even a thing back when I was teaching you to use the bow," he said.

She laughed, “Daryl we might not have been a thing but that doesn’t mean I was blind. I can personally guarantee you every straight woman you’ve ever met has probably thought about those arms.”

He could feel his face reddening more as her eyes dropped back to his arms. “Didn’t realise women were so crazy ‘bout ‘em,” he muttered. He wasn’t sure what he thought his best feature was, but he’d never figured it would be his arms, they were just arms, just there for using, not meant to look nice. Then again, when he thought about Beth’s arms, tiny but toned, he supposed he understood a little bit where she was coming from.

She smiled, her eyes returning to his, “they’re pretty nice arms,” she said, brushing some hair out of his eyes, “your face isn’t too bad either,” she added, pushing herself up onto her toes to press her lips to his.

She tangled her hands into his hair and felt as he wrapped those arms around her waist, pulling her body flush against his. And she smiled into the kiss as she considered that maybe watching him reload the bow for hours was a waste of time, because any time those arms weren’t around her like this, any time she couldn’t feel those muscles pulling her against him in a kiss or in a hug or in a cuddle as they fell asleep, that was the real waste of those arms.


End file.
